LOS ANGELES, May 13, 2009– Only five years after graduating from Loyola Marymount University, Daris Cook received the 2009 Engineer of the Year Award from the Naval Facilities Engineering Command (NAVFAC) in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii.
Cook, who graduated in 2004 with a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering, managed a series of technically challenging, high-visibility projects at the Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard worth more than $20 million which made him one of the top-performing engineers in NAVFAC last year.
He credits part of his success to the faculty at LMU’s Seaver College of Science and Engineering for providing a strong foundation in his chosen field. “At LMU, all of my civil engineering professors were excellent. They get to know you on a personal level which facilitates higher learning,” said Cook.
“The education was top-notch and almost every class had a team project. In my current position, all my projects require teamwork and I learned that at LMU.”
Cook also earned a graduate degree from Chaminade University in Honolulu.
In addition to his education, Cook says his teammates and supervisors on the job have helped him succeed. “I am fortunate to have co-workers and managers who are very talented, extremely knowledgeable and highly dedicated. Without them, this award would not have been possible because everything I learned about doing this job successfully came from them. I do not see or feel that this is an individual award.”
